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Abstract:

The firearm support includes one or more inflatable air bladders and a
valve. The valve allows the user to inflate and deflate the air bladder
to selectively control the firmness of the support device and the
elevation of the firearm.

Claims:

1: A firearm support device for supporting and stabilizing a firearm
comprising: a fabric covering defining a pliable support body having an
interior therein and at least one exterior surface for supporting a
firearm; an air bladder disposed within the support body interior; and a
valve for selectively inflating and deflating the air bladder to
selectively control the firmness of the air bladder.

2: The firearm support device of claim 1 wherein the air bladder includes
an air tight membrane defining an inflatable interior and an expandable
filler material disposed within the membrane interior, whereby the filler
material expands within the membrane when the air bladder is inflated.

3: The firearm support device of claim 1 wherein the filler material is
foam.

4: The firearm support device of claim 1 and a volume of granular
material disposed within the support body interior.

5: The firearm support device of claim 4 wherein the air bladder and the
volume of granular material are located at opposite ends of the support
body interior.

6: The firearm support device of claim 1 wherein the support body is
block shaped and has a recessed channel at one end.

7: The firearm support device of claim 1 wherein the support body is
L-shaped.

8: The firearm support device of claim 1 wherein the support body has a
triangular shape.

[0002] This invention relates to "beanbags" used as firearm supports for
long distance shooting, and in particular, an inflatable "beanbag" for
supporting a firearm.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Snipers and other precision tactical shooters often use tactical or
shooter's "beanbags" under the rear of the rifle stock to support and
stabilize the weapon during long distance shooting. Minimizing weapon
movement is critical to precision long distance shooting and beanbags
help isolate the weapon from slight movements caused by the shooter's
breathing and heartbeat. With the shooter lying in a prone shooting
position on the ground or shooting from a bench or other stable platform,
the shooter supports the rifle stock atop the beanbags, which rest on the
ground or supporting platform. The shooter further supports the stock by
grasping the beanbag with his non-shooting hand while pressing the stock
against his shoulder. The shooter's steady grip on the beanbag stabilizes
the weapon. In addition to supporting and stabilizing the weapon, the
beanbags also allow the shooter to subtly adjust the elevation of the
stock by increasing or decreasing his grip on the beanbag. Tactical
beanbags must be packed or carried with other gear between shooting
positions; consequently, minimizing the weight bulk of a tactical bean
bag is highly desirable. Heretofore, traditional beanbags that consist of
enclosed cloth bags filled with beans, corn, sand, plastic pellets and
other granular substances, have been used as tactical firearms supports,
which do not lend themselves for convenient compact carry or quiet use.

[0004] The firearm supports or "tactical beanbags" embodying the present
invention include one or more inflatable air bladders and a valve that
allow the user to manually inflate and deflate the air bladders to
selectively control the firmness of the support device and the elevation
of the firearm. The present invention seeks to provide a firearm support
that reduces the weight and bulk of conventional tactical beanbags, while
increasing the functionality of the support. The use of air bladders
assures allows for a wider range of adjustment options by inflating or
deflating the air bladders as needed to make the necessary elevation
adjustments to support the firearm. In addition, the use of an air
bladder allows the support to be deflated for very compact storage and
greatly reduces the weight of the support over conventional beanbags.

[0005] The above described features and advantages, as well as others,
will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying
drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] The present invention may take form in various system and method
components and arrangement of system and method components. The drawings
are only for purposes of illustrating exemplary embodiments and are not
to be construed as limiting the invention. The drawings illustrate the
present invention, in which:

[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the firearm
support of this invention;

[0008] FIG. 2 is an end view of the firearm support of FIG. 1;

[0009] FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the firearm support of FIG. 1:

[0010]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the firearm
support of this invention;

[0012]FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of the firearm support of FIG. 4:

[0013]FIG. 7 is an end view of a third embodiment of the firearm support
of this invention;

[0014] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the firearm support of FIG. 7; FIG.
9 is a partial side sectional view of the firearm support of FIG. 7:

[0015]FIG. 10 is a partial side sectional view of a fourth embodiment of
the firearm support of this invention:

[0016] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the firearm support of FIG. 10;

[0017] FIG. 12 is an end view of a fifth embodiment of the firearm support
of this invention;

[0018] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the firearm support of FIG. 12;

[0019] FIG. 14 is a partial side sectional view of the firearm support of
FIG. 12:

[0020] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a sixth embodiment of the firearm
support of this invention;

[0021] FIG. 16 is a side sectional view of the firearm support of FIG. 15;
and

[0022] FIG. 17 is an end view of the firearm support of FIG. 15.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0023] Several embodiments of the present invention are described herein.
In each embodiment, the firearm support generally includes an internal
inflatable air bladder encased by a protective fabric covering. The shape
and configuration of each support is dictated by the shape and
configuration of the internal air bladder. Ideally, the fabric covering
is a durable, water resistant fabric, such as Cordura® nylon from
INVISTA, but other suitable materials may be used. The fabric covering is
selected so that the firearm support is sufficiently pliable when grasped
and squeezed, while providing abrasion resistance to protect the internal
air bladder. The covering material may also be colored and camouflaged as
desired. While conventional air bladders may be used, preferably, the
internal air bladders are filled with a memory foam and are similar to
the inflatable mattresses, pillows, cushions and neck rests sold under
the trademark THERMAREST by Cascade Design, Inc. of Seattle, Wash., but
any conventional air bladder may be used. The foam filled air bladders
are constructed by hermetically encasing a block of memory foam between
thin air impermeable plastic membranes. The plastic membranes are
thermally bonded to and around the memory foam and sealed. The memory
foam allows the firearm support to generally maintain its shape even when
deflated.

[0024] A valve allows the air bladder to be inflated and deflated. The
valve also allows the volume of air in the bladder to be regulated to
selectively control the firmness of the support device. Ideally, the
valve is a conventional two-way conduit with a screw top cap to close the
conduit. Although the screw top type two-way valve represents a
convenient means for inflating and deflating the air bladder, other types
of valves may be employed within the teachings of this invention. The
location of the valve on the bladder is selected to accommodate the
intended use of the firearm support.

[0025] Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-3 illustrate an embodiment
of the firearm support of this invention, which is designated generally
as reference number 10. Firearm support device 10 has a rectangular box
shaped configuration. Device 10 includes a memory foam filled air bladder
12, a valve 14 and covering 18. Valve 14 extends through covering 18 and
allows a user to manually blow air into and release air from foam-filled
air bladder 12. As shown in FIG. 3, foam filled air bladder 12 is formed
by a block of memory foam 16 that is hermetically encased by an outer
membrane 17.

[0026] FIGS. 4-9 illustrate second and third embodiments of the firearm
support of this invention, which are designated respectively as reference
numbers 20 and 30. Supports 20 and 30 are identical in construction to
support 10, except that support 20 has a triangular configuration and
support 30 has an L-shaped configuration.

[0027] FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate a fourth embodiment of the firearm
support of this invention, which is designated generally as reference
number 40. Firearm support 40 combines a conventional bean bag with an
internal air bladder. As shown, firearm support 40 has a rectangular box
shaped configuration with a recessed V-shaped end 50 for receiving the
firearm. As with the other embodiments, support 40 includes a rectangular
foam-filled air bladder 42, a valve 44 and a covering 48. The recessed
end of firearm support 40 also has an internal cavity 51 filled with
inert, hydrophobic pellets 52. While cavity 51 is ideally filled with
inert and hydrophobic materials, such as plastic pellets, other granular
materials, such as sand, beans, corn, gravel and the like can be used as
filler. In use, air bladder 42 allows the user to raise and lower the
elevation of the firearm by adjusting the volume of air in the air
bladder. As with a conventional tactical bean bag, the user squeezes the
pellet filled cavity at the recessed end where the firearm rests to make
the minute adjustments to the firearm when sighting.

[0028] FIGS. 12 - 14 illustrate a fifth embodiment of the firearm support
of this invention, which is designated as reference number 60. As shown,
firearm support 60 has an L-shaped configuration similar to firearm
support 30, but includes a pair of pellet filled pads 62 and 64 mounted
to the inflatable L-shaped main body 66. As with the other embodiments,
the inflatable main body includes the foam-filled air bladder, valve and
cloth cover. Both pellet filled pads 62 and 64 provide a resting surface
for a firearm. As with firearm support 40, the user can selectively raise
and lower the elevation of the firearm by adjusting the volume of air in
the air bladder and make minute sighting adjustments by squeezing the
pellet filled pads 62 and 64.

[0029] FIGS. 15-17 illustrate a sixth embodiment of the firearm support of
this invention, which is designated as reference number 70. Firearm
support 70 includes an inflatable main body 72 and a pellet filled
firearm saddle 74. The main body is shaped similar to a neck pillow and
as with the other embodiments, inflatable main body 72 includes the
foam-filled air bladder, valve and cover. Firearm saddle 62 extends from
the top of the main body and is again filled ideally with inert
hydrophobic granular material 74, such as plastic pellets, although other
granular materials may be used. Again, the user can selectively raise and
lower the elevation of the firearm by adjusting the volume of air in the
air bladder and make minute sighting adjustments by squeezing the pellet
filled saddle 72.

[0030] FIGS. 18-20 illustrates a seventh embodiment of the firearm support
of this invention which is designated as reference number 80. Similar to
firearm support 10 of FIGS. 1-3, firearm support 80 has a rectangular box
shaped configuration. Firearm support 80, however, uses a conventional
air bladder 82 rather than a foam-filled air bladder. Firearm support 80
uses a similar valve 84 and covering 88, but also includes a foam padding
86 around air bladder 82. Again, valve 84 extends through padding 86 and
covering 88 and allows a user to manually blow air into and release air
from air bladder 82.

[0031] One skilled in the art will note the use of an air bladder in the
firearm support of this invention provides a greater degree of adjustment
and functionality than that of conventional tactical bean bags. The user
can selectively inflate and deflate the air bladder to adjust the
elevation and firmness of the support. As shown in certain embodiments,
the air bladder can be used and incorporated with a conventional bean bag
or gel pad as desired. The use of an air bladder allows the support to be
deflated for very compact storage and transportation. Because the support
can be deflated, the support can be easily stored and transported. The
support can also be manually inflated by blowing in the valve. The air
bladder is light weight and provides for compact storage.

[0032] The embodiments of the present invention herein described and
illustrated are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention
to the precise form disclosed. They are presented to explain the
invention so that others skilled in the art might utilize its teachings.
The embodiment of the present invention may be modified within the scope
of the following claims.